Portable drilling mast



July 10 1956 H. J. wooLsLAYER ET AL PORTABLE DRILLING MAST Filed July 29, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN V EN TORS l #ein MMA/$9.5

July 10, 1956 H. J. wooLsLAYl-:R ETAL 2,753,963

PORTABLE DRILLING MAST Filed July 29, 1952 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Matus E? loo/uf.; f demi 9- 617056 United States Patent O PORTABLE DRILLING MAST Homer J. Woolslayer, Cecil Jenkins, and Charles D.

Iddings, Tulsa, Okla., and Erwin A. Campbell, Wexford, Pa., assignors to Lee C. Moore Corporation, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Application July 29, 1952, Serial No. 301,442

1 Claim. (Cl. 189-11) This invention relates to oil well drilling masts, and more particularly to a mast designed for permanent mounting on a portable base.

When a well drilling mast is permanently mounted on a portable base along with the drawworks and engines, there are certain limitations on load dimensions that have to be observed in order to move the unit over the highways. During transportation, the mast must be in a substantially horizontal or reclining position, so the drawworks and engines should be located below it. Also, during transportation the gin pole likewise should be disposed in a reclining position, in which it will not project above the reclining mast.

It is among the objects of this invention to provide a compact mast structure of the character just described, in which the gin pole does not project above the reclining mast but is automatically swung up into operative position at the beginning of the mast raising operation, in which the mast cannot be swung past the head of the gin pole, and in which the gin pole automatically is lowered at the end of the mast lowering operation.

In accordance with this invention, a reclining mast eX- tends lengthwise of a portable base, with the foot end of the mast located above the front end of the base. There are means on the base for pivotally supporting the foot end of the mast and also for pivotally supporting the foot of a reclining gin pole. The foot of the gin pole is behind the foot of the mast. The gin pole extends toward the foot end of the mast and has a different width than the adjacent portion of the mast so that the pole can be swung upward along the sides of the reclining mast. Means are provided for Hunting this upward movement of the gin pole. There are cable means connecting the mast behind the top of the reclining gin pole with the top of the pole, and these means are adapted to be pulled, such as by the drawworks below the mast, for swinging the top of the gin pole backward and up above the reclining mast and then swinging the mast forward and up to upright position. When in this position, the mast is detachably connected to the upper end of the raised gin pole so that the mast will be held up right. When the mast is disconnected from the gin pole and lowered and the tension on the cable means is relieved, the top of the gin pole will swing forward and down to its lower position.

The preferred embodiment of the invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is a side view of the mast structure ready for transportation to a new location or for elevation of the gin pole and mast; Fig. 2 is a side view showing the gin pole and mast swung up into operative position; Fig. 3 is a front view of the structure shown in the preceding gure; Fig. 4 is an enlarged horizontal section of the mast taken on the line IV-IV of Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is an enlarged fragmentary vertical section taken on the line V-V of Fig. 3; and Fig. 6 is a fragmentary cross section taken on the line VI-VI of Fig. 5.

ICC

Referring to Fig. 1 of the drawings, an oil well mast base 1 is shown which can be skidded from one location to another or placed on a truck trailer for transportation. In fact, the base can be the permanent bed of a trailer if desired. Mounted on this base a few feet from one end is the usual rotary table 2 which is driven from the drawworks 3 and engine 4 resting on the central portion of the base. The rotary end of the base will be referred to herein as the front end. Mounted on the base in front and at the sides of the rotary table is a superstructure 6 forming an elevated support that extends a considerable distance above the level of the top of the drawworks and engines. The upper end of the superstructure is pivotally connected to the feet 7 of a reclining mast that extends substantially horizontally back across the drawworks and engines and rests face up on a support 8 mounted on the back end of the base. The superstructure must be tall enough to allow the mast to pass over the drawworks and engines, but no taller than permitted by highway load height limitations. The leg 10 of the mast, which are at the upper side of the reclining mast, are referred to herein as the frontlegs and are connected by suitable conventional bracing to the rear legs 11 which are at the lower side of the reclining mast. The rear legs do not extend to the foot of the mast, but terminate near the rear end of the drawworks at what is called the heel of the mast. They are connected by inclined braces 12 to feet 7.

Below the heel of the mast and behind the drawworks there is an upright framework 14 which is mounted on the base near its opposite sides. This framework can be braced by braces 15 connecting it with superstructure 6. The upper end of this framework is about on a level with the top of the drawworks and pivotally supports the foot of a gin pole 16 that extends forward over the drawworks and through the upper part of superstructure 6. The upper end or head of the gin pole does not project appreciably above the level of the upper side of the reclining mast.

A traveling block 17 inside the mast is connected by the usual drilling line 18 with the crown block 19 and with the drawworks drum 20. The hook on the traveling block is hooked onto a sling 21 that is connected to the top of the reclining gin pole. This sling is formed from a cable doubled on itself, and the opposite ends of the cable are anchored to the top of the gin pole. From there the sling extends back under the mast and up around a pair of sheaves 22 mounted in the lower side of the mast near the heel. From these sheaves, the sling extends upward inside the mast and in front and over another pair of ysheaves 23 mounted in the mast near its upper side. From these last two sheaves, the sling extends back in the mast and is looped over the hook of the traveling block. The positions of the sheaves are also shown in Fig. 4.

When it is desired to raise the mast, the drawworks drum is rotated to pull the traveling block and sling 21 toward the crown block. As the sling is pulled, it swings the gin pole upward and backward between the opposite sides of the masts lower portion, which is free of cross braces. The gin pole is narrower than that portion of the mast. When the pole has reached a predetermined inclined position, indicated in broken lines in Fig. 1, its movement is stopped by guy lines 25 connected to its top and to the superstructure 6 that supports the mast. With the gin pole end of the sling now located in fixed position above the reclining mast, further pulling of the opposite end of the sling will cause it to lift sheaves 22 and thereby swing the mast upward and forward until it is in upright position above the rotary table, as shown in Fig. 2.

As the mast reaches upright position, a pair of semicylindrical socketmembers-26, which are mounted on the upper part of auxiliary braces 27 between inclined braces 12, t around the laterally projecting ends of a horizon tal tubular member 28 that extends across the top of the gin pole and forms its head, all as shown in Figs. 5 and 6. These nesting tube ends and socket members are .provided with aligned holes, through which bolts 29 are inserted for detachably connecting the mast to the head of the gin pole. The tension on sling 21 then can be released because the gin `pole will brace the mast in upright position. The sling is unhooked from the traveling `block and is tied to the mast in a position where it will not interfere with drilling operations. The foregoing procedure is just reversed in lowering the mast for transportation to another location. When the tension is taken ol the sling after the mast has been lowered onto back rest 8, .the .gin pole will swing down to its reclining position shown in Fig. l. A compact unit thus is formed which can readily bemoved to a new location where the mast can be erected again in just a few minutes. The raising and lowering operations are greatly simpliiied by vusing the sling to raise and lower the gin pole as well .as the mast, and in a continuous operation that does not require the sling to be removed from the raised gin pole and then attached .to the reclining mast.

According to the provisions of the patent statutes, we have explained the principle of our invention and have illustrated and describedwhat we now consider to represent .its best embodiment. However, we desire to have it understood that, within the scope of the appended claims, the invention may be practiced otherwise than as specically illustrated and described.

We claim:

A well drilling structure comprising a base -having front and rear ends, a reclining mast extending lengthwise of 'the base and having a pair of front Ylegs extending along its upper side and a pair of rear legs extending along Vits lower side, the front legs having their feet located above the front end of the base, a crown block carried by the opposite end of the mast beyond the rear end of the base, means rigidly mounted on the base pivotally supporting the feet of the front legs, the rear legs terminating several feet short of said means, a reclining gin pole above the base having a top and a foot and laterally spaced legs, means on the base behind said mast-supporting means pivotally supporting the foot of the gin pole, the gin pole extending toward said feet and being narrower than the portion of the mast above it, said portion of the mast being bifurcated to permit the gin -pole to :be swung upward through it, means limiting said upward movement of the gin pole, a sling connected with the top of the reclining gin pole and extending back into the mast, a traveling block in the mast and connected to lthe sling, a -drilling line connecting the traveling block with said crown block and then extending frorn the latter forward beneath the reclining mast, means on the base for pulling on Vsaid line to draw the traveling block toward the crown block in order to swing the gin pole backward and up above the reclining mast and then swing the Vrnast forward and up to upright position, the top of the gin pole having a cross member projecting laterally beyond its opposite sides, `forwardly 'facing stop members mounted at opposite sides lof the mast adjacent the lower ends of its rear legs for engaging the 'ends of said cross member to stop forward movement of the mast when it reaches a substantially vertical position, and means for detachably securing said :stop lmembers to said cross member to hold the mast upright.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS '350,213 Rounds Oct. 15, 1886 1,661,591 Wright Mar. 6, 1928 2,332,479 VWoolslayer et al Oct. 19, 1943 2,495,563 Woolslayer et al, Ian. 24, 1950 2,570,901 Woolslayer etal. Oct. 9, 1951 2,593,246 Bender Apr. 15, 1952 

